· November, 2013

Stories about Arts & Culture from November, 2013

A Durian Village In Sri Lanka

  30 November 2013

In Southern parts of Sri Lanka the cultivation of Durian, regarded by many in southeast Asia as the “king of fruits”, is becoming popular as it has export demands. The Sri Lanka Ministry of Agriculture has taken steps to commercially cultivate Durian, reports Ajith Parakum Jayasinghe. A 30-acre Durian village...

South Korea: Suffering of the Sacrificial ‘Wide Goose Fathers’

  22 November 2013

‘Wide Goose Father’ is a commonly-used term in South Korea referring to sacrificial fathers who send their wife and children abroad for better education, but themselves remain in South Korea to work and cover all the expenses. The number of wild goose fathers has been steadily increasing over the years...

‘Japanese Banksy’ Bashes Nuclear Industry With Street Art

  20 November 2013

Anonymous Japanese street artist 281_Anti Nuke takes inspiration from his British counterpart Banksy to take on Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the crippled nuclear plant in Fukushima prefecture. You can see more of 281_Anti Nuke's works on his website.

Croatian Activists Protest Concert of Nationalist Rock Band in Zagreb

  17 November 2013

These signs were placed on the Hall of Sports in Zagreb by Croatian activists just days before Thompson, a Croatian rock band, held their concert there on Saturday, November 16. The band bears its name after the nickname of their lead singer, Marko Perković, received during service in the military...

Discovering the Bouquinistes of Colombo

  17 November 2013

Paris may be famous for its bouquinistes, stalls selling second hand and antiquarian books lining the banks of the River Seine, but Colombo also has them. They don’t line the banks of the Beira Lake and tourists seldom find them but they are invaluable for the traveller. In this lovely...

Jamaica: Police Painting Out Murals

  15 November 2013

Many will say the murals are merely ‘a glorification of criminals’ and should be defaced for fear of their ‘grave effects’ on ‘poor Jamaicans’ [but]…How does a profoundly corrupt state determine criminality? A really interesting post by Active Voice about the police embracing iconoclasm as a crime strategy.

South Koreans Furious Over Never-Ending Crappy Soap Opera

  14 November 2013

Although K-drama (South Korean soap opera) seems doing well internationally, South Koreans’ discontent and complaints on its repeated patterns and cliched scenarios and characters are bubbling under. Recently, as major network TV, KBS decided to extend a poorly-written soap opera ‘Princess Aurora’ which many call an ‘insult to viewers’ intelligence’,...